Two Mexican nationals detained in death of veteran Coast Guard officer

U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Lt. Stewart Sibert
Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne, stationed on the Cutter Halibut, climbs up onto the ship after conducting water survival training in this undated photograph. Chief Horne, a Boatswain Mate, was killed in the early morning of Dec. 2, 2012, from injuries sustained during law enforcement operations near Santa Cruz Island, Calif. The Coast Guard Cutter Halibut was investigating a panga-type vessel suspected of illicit activities. When the Halibut's small boat approached with its blue law enforcement light energized, the suspect vessel, identified to be a profile Mexican style panga, maneuvered at a high rate of speed directly towards the Coast Guard small boat and struck it before fleeing the scene.

Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III holds his son during a Christmas cruise aboard the Cutter Halibut, his home unit, in this undated photograph.

Contributed Photo

Federal prosecutors charged two Mexican nationals Monday in the killing of a veteran Coast Guard officer who was investigating a possible smuggling boat near Santa Cruz Island.

Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III, 34, of Redondo Beach suffered a fatal head injury early Sunday when the suspects reportedly rammed an inflatable Coast Guard boat and Horne was thrown into the water.

Horne is the first law enforcement official to die on California's seas since a spike in illegal activity began several years ago, said Ralph DeSio, a Customs and Border Protection spokesman.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Victor B. Kenton ordered the two men to be held without bail, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Monday. They will be asked to enter a plea at a Dec. 21 arraignment.

Jose Meija-Leyva and Manuel Beltran-Higuera were found on a panga boat, a small fishing vessel sometimes used by Mexican smugglers, about 20 miles from the border Sunday morning. The Coast Guard took the men into custody after an hours-long investigation and pursuit that started the night before near Smuggler's Cove on Santa Cruz Island off the Ventura County coast.

About 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Coast Guard officers in a C-130 aircraft saw a recreational boat, its lights off, floating in the water about a mile from the cove, according to an affidavit filed by prosecutors.

The Coast Guard cutter Halibut, based in Marina del Rey, was sent to inspect it. After finding the first boat, C-130 crew members said they saw a second vessel in the cove — a panga, also without lights, and not moving, authorities said.

A smaller, inflatable boat routinely used on missions that require more speed and agility was launched from the cutter to investigate, the Coast Guard said. About 1:20 a.m. Sunday, its crew found the panga floating about 200 yards from the eastern shore of Santa Cruz.

When the Coast Guard crew members were 20 yards from the panga, they turned on the inflatable boat's flashing blue lights and shouted, "Stop, police, put your hands up," in English and Spanish, the affidavit says.

In response, someone on the panga throttled its engines and sped toward the inflatable boat. Coast Guard officers tried to steer out of the panga's path, and an officer fired shots, but the panga rammed into their boat, and two officers were thrown overboard, authorities said.

Horne was struck in the head by a propeller, and a second officer was cut in the leg and treated for minor injuries. Two others on the inflatable boat were unharmed.

Crew members quickly pulled the two out of the water and started to give them medical care, the Coast Guard said. When everyone was back on the cutter, it made its way to Port Hueneme.

The Port of Hueneme assisted with operations from the shore, providing berthing, notifying emergency response teams and activating its new joint operations center, said Port Director Kristin Decas.

Paramedics met the cutter at the port, where Horne was pronounced dead at 2:21 a.m.

At a news conference Monday, Coast Guard Lt. Stewart Sibert, commanding officer of the Halibut, called Horne the "glue" that held his crew together. Horne, second in command of the boat, was a 14-year veteran of the Coast Guard.

Sibert credited Horne with saving three lives a few months ago while responding to a sailboat in trouble during harsh sea conditions near the Channel Islands, and likely many more lives during his career.

As rescue efforts were under way early Sunday, the Coast Guard continued to follow the panga boat from the air, and another of its boats later intercepted the panga about 5:05 a.m., the affidavit says.

Meija-Leyva and Beltran-Higuera were detained and taken to the Los Angeles Border Enforcement Security Task Force in San Pedro, a multiagency group that investigates smuggling.

Coast Guard officers reported finding extra fuel containers on the recreational boat found late Saturday. Authorities said it could have been used as a fuel supply for a smuggling operation.

Officers said they found bullet holes, a satellite phone, knife, handheld GPS and a cellphone on the panga, the affidavit says. There was no mention of drugs found.

Channel Islands National Park officials have temporarily closed Santa Cruz Island to ensure public safety, and several campers were brought back to the mainland Sunday and Monday, officials said.

Coast Guard spokesman Adam Eggers said authorities were making sure no evidence washed ashore that could be compromised.

Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, issued a statement Monday expressing sympathy to Horne's family and calling on authorities to step up efforts against panga smuggling off the Central Coast.

In the past several years, authorities have reported a marked increase in ocean smuggling along the Southern California coast, with activity moving north into Ventura County and beyond.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials reported 45 such incidents, mostly in the San Diego area, in 2008. Four years later — in fiscal year 2012 — the number jumped to 210.

About 50 tons of drugs linked to maritime smuggling attempts was seized in 2012 — nearly a fourfold increase in the volume seized a year earlier, the agency reported.

In Ventura County, seven smuggling incidents were reported in 2012, up from five a year earlier. The seven resulted in 38 apprehensions and nearly 9,500 pounds of marijuana seized, authorities said.